Popovich believes in Blair, and he doesn’t

The last time an NBA rookie ended with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds, Avery Johnson had a message for him.

“We still need a little more,” Johnson told Tim Duncan, after beating Phoenix in March of 1998.

Johnson laughed then. He was repeating an old John Lucas line.

A dozen years later, after DeJuan Blair powered to his own 20-20, the message changed.

Now Blair is the one who needs a little more — playing time.

Gregg Popovich hasn’t mishandled Blair. Rookies are notorious for being inconsistent, so Popovich’s nightly plan has been sound. He starts Blair and sees what he is getting, and then he reacts.

Popovich reacted Wednesday like a guy who had won the lottery. “I’m going to take what he gave us tonight, and I don’t know how he did it,” Popovich told reporters in Oklahoma City. “I have no clue what his moves are. He’s just a basketball player. He hustles his [tail] off, he’s got a nose for the ball, he’s got great hands and he does what you saw. We didn’t teach him any of it. He brought it all with him.”

Popovich shakes his head at his good luck. A lot of smart general managers passed on Blair last June, including Sam Presti, and because of that Popovich has a rare talent to plug into his rotation.

One aspect that was on display again in Oklahoma City: Blair’s ability to get his 265 pounds into the air and finish.

But it was more than a play or two. Against the Thunder, a team without much bulk, Blair was an ideal counter. And after a remarkable stat line put together in only 31 minutes, it was Scott Brooks’ turn to shake his head.

“I don’t even know if Duncan could have done this tonight,” the Oklahoma City coach said.

That’s some statement. Here’s another from Brooks: “Every shot in his mind is going to be a missed shot, an opportunity for him to get his team an extra possession. I played with (Charles) Barkley, and that’s how he thought.”

Popovich believes, too. But there’s part of him that doesn’t, because Popovich really doesn’t know how Blair does it. The kid is too young and too short, and his skill set isn’t conventional.

So can he be effective every night? At his height, won’t he get lost against 7-footers? And if the other team goes small, can he defend on the perimeter?

These are the reasons Popovich doesn’t stick with Blair for long on certain nights. These are the reasons Blair played eight minutes against the Mavericks and seven against the Lakers.

Antonio McDyess was also there the last time a rookie hit the 20-20 mark. Playing for Phoenix, he guarded Duncan.

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As for Manu Ginobili’s hustling, diving, parallel-to-the-ground save and outrageous no-look pass to George Hill: There was a time when Ginobili would have turned the corner, elevated and simply scored the game-winner himself.